They thought it was going to be easy. A piece of cake. The band, Suenalo, were excited that they would present their skills to a group of troubled youth at a detention center (少管所).
They arrived at the invitation of a friend, who was an adviser at the center. He had mentioned a career day where members of the community came to speak to the teens about their jobs. Usually the speakers were bankers or lawyers, so he thought it would be interesting for the kids to meet some musicians and maybe even hear some music. "They need something cool to get their attention" was the pitch from the friend.
The kids, about 40, were brought in, looking distant, some even angry. Chad Bernstein, the trombone player, started telling the career of a musician from touring to copyright to the business aspects, trying to draw their interest. However， it didn't. Sensing that they couldn't win, the band，a little thrown, decided to play one song. With music going, the kids seemed to respond, their heads nodding to the beat. One of them sang a lyric. The band sang it back. Then, one by one, the musicians began picking up the beat. Chad started free styling a rap, going back and forth with the kid, and in no time, other kids jumped in. Suddenly the band and the kids were creating a song from scratch and all of them were in musical heaven.
For Chad, that moment inspired him to found Guitars Over Guns, an organization that pairs at-risk middle-schoolers with professional musicians. As both music teachers and life coaches，the musicians give the kids a way to find their creative voices and get through dark times. Over time, the kids have dropped their tough fronts and shared personal stories, from family tragedies 10 ordinary struggles at school with friends.
"So far we've helped over 2, 700 students. Our work is highly satisfying because it shows us that a music career is more than a job, it can have more impact," says Chad Bernstein.
